Wednesday, December 31, 2014

A Half-Dozen Delights. Closing Bell For 2014.

Six special stand-outs for me... six moments, memories, snips of time, and days which made me sublimely happy.  A reflection, of sorts, and appreciation for just how good things can be.
**Please note, these are not in any particular   

One.
Traveled throughout most of the Southeastern United States - especially around the Gulf of Mexico, wiggling my toes in the white sand beaches, feeling the surf and sun on my skin, the saltiness in the air and on my tongue.  Greatly needed solitude.  

Mexico Beach, Florida.  I spent three wonderfully lavish days here.  
Photo credit goes to Mexico Beach Properties, LLC

Two.
Exploring my city, finding neighborhood gems, urban treks into the unknown, stumbling across interesting pubs, restaurants, and nightclubs.  Sharing my newly-found knowledge with family and special friends, enjoying their surprise and delight.  Seeing New Orleans through their eyes.

My beloved New Orleans city skyline at dusk.  
Photo credit goes to Cathy Ayers Richard x0x0

Three.
My roller derby family.  Planning, playing, volunteering, putting the "fun" into FUNdraisers, the premiere party of MURDERDROME ("Stop Screaming and Start Skating!"), co-ed mash-ups, Dirty South, after-parties, and yet there is always room for greasy pizza and roller-rink nachos.  Beer and shots and injuries and camaraderie.  

Photo credit goes to IMdB (dot) com

Four.
I'm a [part-time] working stiff!!  Gainfully employed and loving every day that I go into the office.  No two days are ever the same, my "office" can be one of many venues, and I'm able to suck up knowledge and information like a sponge.  One of the best things about my job is that I interact with people from all over the world and get asked some of the most off-the-wall, funny, random, and very odd questions.  But I do wonder if some of these people had ever thought to use Google or Bing before coming over to ask me...??


Five.
New-Old-Reconnected friends.  One weekend hanging out with both of them gave me such joy.  We have all been talking for some time, but we *finally* were able to get together and it was ah-may-ZING.  I felt like I was hanging out with my soul mates - no filters, no pretenses, no need to put on airs... we all are on the same wavelength.  They are there for me and I am there for them.  Even though we are apart geographically, I would feel like there is something missing if I don't message them most every day.  I love you guys, and you know who you are.  x0x0x0

Our super-swank hangout at The Barn
I took this pic eons ago... after we had finally unpacked everything.

Six.
My depression was pretty tame this year.  Of course, I had some shitty moments every now and again (who doesn't have a shitty day every so often??) - but I was able to overcome them and back to being happy and quite content.  No more meds for me, either (well, maybe a little valium to overcome anxiety every once in a while, but it's a low dose).  And I've found a fabulous doctor (yes, I actually have a Primary Care Physician) who is helping me with my insomnia hell.  I actually sleep now!!  And that includes napping, too.  

Right before I took my nap on the couch this afternoon...  
Selfie taken with my iPhone 6P


Lagniappe.
New Orleans Creole word for "something extra".  
A few moments while in my kitchen, I felt beautiful, attractive, and simply acted on impulse.  I still get the warm fuzzies while thinking about it.

That sums up my year pretty perfectly.  

Happy New Year to you all.  

Monday, December 29, 2014

Pet Peeves. "Mrs StuckInSchool".

DISCLAIMER:  Lengthy Post.

Oh, social media.  I have such a love-hate relationship with you.  On one hand, I have "friends" on my Facebook that are only there because... well, I'm nosy and quite a few of them are complete and utter train-wrecks.  I mean, no one actually likes a train-wreck - but it's one of those dirty little things that you just can't help but watch.  Let's be honest... there is a whole CATEGORY of people who I just don't un-friend simply because there's almost always some kind of screwy drama going on in their life.  Some of the cray-cray they freely and regularly post is downright titillating.

And then there are the other "friends" - those who are not necessarily in the smash-crash category, yet they are just assholes in their own right.  The posts where you'll do a double-take and think "where in the jolly FUCK did THAT just come from?"

Pet Peeve Numero Uno

The fact is, unless you talk to someone on a regular basis (whether it by by messenger, text, telephone, email, etc...), most people on FB are not really your *friends* (per se).  They are acquaintances.  Big huge difference.  I might "like" a status every so often, but I don't actually interact with most of the (close to) 300 "friends" on my Facebook.  I find myself interacting with the same real friends every day.  The others??  I don't really care.  They are usually there for my amusement and I'll un-friend if they bore me.  

They are not FRIENDS.  They are acquaintances.  Learn the difference.

However...

Pet Peeve Numero Dos

Then there are the "Mrs StuckInSchool"** [women] who write statuses about drinking games and previously "being fat" - you know the type.  They hit their pinnacle, their prime, their best, before reaching the ancient age of 21.  They are the people who would go back in time JUST BECAUSE their experience in the public education penitentiary was just *the best*.  Usually, they were the über-popular preppy or sports-lettered douche-bags that almost everyone else despised.  Back in the day, they were bullies and usually quite unpleasant to those not in their clique.  

Well, they haven't changed.  Posting a picture of a piece of cheesecake with the idiotic hashtag of "foreverthefatgirl" (heads-up, peeps - that twat was never fat - and she wouldn't have wanted to go back to high school had she been) AND "thisiswhyicrossfit" (well, duh - we ALL KNOW you *crossfit* because you post your fucking exercise list on Facebook or Instagram EVERY day) just screams "Attention Whore!".  Nothing more, nothing less.  Oh, and it makes me think less of these "ladies" than I did before, if that is even possible. 

Oh, and let's not forget about posting all the beer-pong and drinking games you do at almost-forty.  It's pathetic and goes to show that some people never evolve.

PS...  I hid "Mrs StuckInSchool" from my newsfeed today because I wanted to hand her a steaming pile of sarcasm on a shit platter.  Being the upstanding adult I am, I vented to two of my best friends (one who talked me down - thank you!!) and so I didn't write anything nasty.  

Pet Peeve Numero Tres

Sometimes being an adult about things simply blows dead donkey dick.  Please see *Pet Peeve Numero Dos* for just one of the reasons (minus bills, car insurance, and long-term planning for expensive things) as to why being a grown-up can suck.

Pet Peeve Numero Cuatro

Passive-aggressive people.  It's one thing to be Politically Correct at times and it's also another thing to simply keep your trap shut if you know that you absolutely cannot say something nice.  I'm an atheist, but that doesn't mean that whenever an acquaintance (who may be religious) posts something god-tastic on their wall, I should then reply with a litany of why *I* think their religion sucks.  Which is why I find it so shitty when I write something or post an article about atheism and a religious person feels compelled to tell me that I need Jesus or Allah or L. Ron Hubbard.  Really????  

And it's almost always done in that sick, syrup-y sweet passive-aggressive fashion that I can't respond to unless I want to look like an absolute and utter bitch.  Because these people have made an art out of appearing like they actually care - and therefore, I'm supposed to thank them for underhandedly insulting me.  

Just give me the same consideration and keep your snarky little comments off my wall, mmmmmmmkay???

Pet Peeve Numero Cinco

The inconsiderate hippie bastards who live upstairs.  I'm tired of their shitty music, on a weeknight, when someone in this house has to get up at 5:30 AM to go to work.  I get that they are on a different "work" (which I'm really not sure that either one of them do steadily) schedule, but a little fucking consideration would go a long way.  

I will remedy this, however.  Tomorrow morning, I will be sure to play my music extremely loud around 8:00 AM.  This usually makes them think before playing recorders, tambourines, and bad Bob Dylan music until all hours (happens about once a week).  I'm thinking that some speed metal will hit the spot.  For me, at least.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So...  I could probably go on for a while more - but quite honestly, I think that this is enough for today.  Being negative is really not really productive, but ranting about what makes me crazy and getting it off my chest is very therapeutic.  

**Special thanks to TD - for the term "Mrs StuckInSchool".  You are so spot-on with that.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Getting Booze. Supah-Stardom.

So.  I'm headed down to our local Stop-And-Rob for some beer.  I feel like drinking tonight.  No excuses, didn't have a rough day at work, didn't have a scuffle with the spouse, and I'm not in a low funk.  I just feel like being inebriated.

Personally, I think if more people simply admitted to this, there would be far less traffic to "Passages Malibu" and AA.  A&E's "Intervention" would not be such a train wreck to watch (while drinking booze, no less)...  Which brings me to...

Charlie Sheen.  That's right.  THE Charlie Sheen.

(Photo credit to 2012 FX Ad Sales)

I'm not going to lie.  In my own cray-cray fashion, I admire the man.  You see, he pulled a full-on Howard Hughes - he went whack-a-doodle - but PUBLICLY (unlike Hughes - who had been living in a home movie theatre for months and pissing in bottles).  Seriously.  Now, when a Holy-Wood star fucks up,  the usual "script" requires that he or she writes some bullshit apology letter (or better yet, gets some heavy play on a massive cable network "news" show), goes on "Good Morning America", gives a bunch of money (or time) to a charity, and then - to prove that they are really. seriously. sorry. they check into REHAB.  

Oh, but NOT CHARLIE!!  Nope.  He kept snorting the coke and smoking the meth and banging the hookers, and posting the awesome YouTube rants (which generated tee-shirt sales AND garnered media attention) - and he made no apologies for it.  Selfish??  Perhaps.  Narcissistic??  Most definitely.  But even more shocking??  He might have been fucking nuts, but he was honest about it.  And when was the last time you saw a Holy-Wood star doing something like that??

Yeah, he probably WAS either high or drunk (or both) - but I don't really give a shit.  

So let's come full circle to a little Juggsy logic.  I drink at times to get drunk.  I stay at home, eat crap-tastic drunk food sold at the Stop-And-Rob ("Pizzeria Pretzel Combos", anyone??), watch some really bad reality TV, jibber-jabber to my friends on the phone (thank you Drunk Dial Friends - you know who you are, and you're the best), and play on the interwebz.  Worst case scenario??  I trip and fall and can't get up or burn a shitty frozen pizza in the oven.  Or the dog gets too many treats (for the record, she does NOT think this is a bad thing).  

You tell me... why should there be a stigma attached to a legal activity done in the privacy of one's own home??  Because Charlie Sheen would say this:

"I'm a warlock with tiger blood" and " I have Adonis DNA" and "I'm winning".  Duh.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

The "F" Word. Not Gordon Ramsay's Show, Either.

I'm talking about feelings, people.  Not the word "fuck".  Not Chef Ramsay's "The F Word".  Not about shagging.  Get your head out of the gutter, you dirty bastards!!  [I'd insert an emoticon here, but that's so clichè]

Anyhow...

There are a few things that I'd like to confess to.  Of course, the vodka-tonics are helping me a whole bunch, along with a touch of post-holiday melancholy, some Catholic guilt (even though I'm atheist), and a Scrabble-bag FULL of emotions floating near the surface (near enough to make me write about them - hell0!!).  So, screw the filter.  Here goes nothing and in no specific order:

  • I'm a bitch.  And I've been described as such.  I don't know if it is because I'm child-free-by-choice, socially liberal, blunt, atheist, or a Yankee who happens to live in the Deep South.  And, for the most part, I'm really okay with that.  It would be wrong of me to say that I wasn't a bitch, because I most certainly can pull out that card and play it with the fervor of a casino junkie on a winning streak.  Sometimes it works for me - other times??  Yeah, not so much. 
  • If I fuck up, I own it.  I own it so that I can get the first opportunity to fix the problem.  I don't believe in letting things snowball.  And let me just tell you... I've had crow prepared every-which-way.  And guess what???  It tastes like shit each. and. every. time.  However, I would've really hated myself had I passed the buck.  Maybe that goes back to some residual Catholic guilt??  
  • I *try* to be nice.  Really, I do.  There are a couple of behaviors that tend to dance on my last nerve... and hopefully, I'm not the only person who goes into a rage of sorts over... stupid people.  Selfish people.  Inconsiderate people.  Bad drivers.  Children being allowed in places where they previously would've never been allowed.  Entitlements.  Sometimes I end up feeling like Madea if older kids are assholes.  (PS... I don't want to debate about the concept of older children behaving like asshats or idiots - because we ALL did it).  
  • Depression comes and goes and it really has no obvious warning signs.  Whether I'm on something for it or not, it really doesn't matter.  It makes me question every single stupid decision I make... from what I buy for groceries to what color socks I want.  It hangs around and it makes things shitty.  So, if I don't seem to be my cheery-ass self, I'm probably battling a round of depression.  
  • One of the big things that happens to be very important to me... I always try to treat people the way I want to be treated.  This is actually a very interesting subject and one that I would not mind delving into during another day. 

Actually, any of these topics are up and open for discussion.  The floor is yours.  Now surprise me.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Christmas. Cement Hands. Some Rambling Thoughts.

As most of my friends can attest, I absolutely love funky art and weird sculptures.  My house is full of it.  And my lovely second-year-med-student-derby-girl-friend and neighbor gave me a fantabulous gift.  Cement hands.  Literally.  She made a mold of her own digits and then poured the cement in... and gave me these creations:


Seriously.  Are they not the coolest???  And, yes, the middle fingers are extended - which just makes them all the more fun.  I'm planning on using one of these as a soap-dish in my guest bathroom.  Ha!!  I might consider "letting" my husband use the other one in his office to hold his business cards... but I'm hugely tempted to keep it on my desk instead.  Decisions, decisions!!

Methinks I need to get some [a bunch of] wine and go over to her house and play with cement sometime soon.  I think my feet would be pretty fun to do - I have delicious arches.  Foot fetish, anyone???

All in all, Christmas (yes, even atheists can refer to December 25th as that day) was really wonderful this year.  Not a touch of depression, dinner came out lovely and delicious, the afternoon was mellow (of course, I grazed too much... stupid Hickory Farms cheese and summer sausage and crackers and cookies), and the company was sublime.  Lots of laughing, good wine, and we ended up watching the horrible "Star Wars Christmas Special" (that of which even the great George Lucas himself is absolutely ashamed of) and cracking jokes and puns like the lunatics we are.

Now that it's all done and over, I feel like I can get back on track.  Yes, I know that the New Year starts next week and I'm making some plans for then, but for the most part, December 25th is the end of the year for me.  It might sound odd, but Christmas is almost like a catharsis of sorts.  It's the end of a whole bunch of stressful shit... from making plans for the days leading up to the actual holiday to the buying of gifts, cooking, baking, running regular errands, shopping, work, and cleaning (the list goes on - but who wants to read about that mundane crapola?).  Once it's over, I can just get back to my version of normal and keep working (even if it IS sporadically) towards my goals.

Speaking of goals, that's a post for another day.  Perhaps even tomorrow.  But for now, I'm going to admire my new cement hand sculptures, chat with my close friends through some sort of social media, drink wine, play some games, and maybe watch some trash television.

After all, it is a holiday.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

1. The Start.

Hopefully, this blog will be the start of something new.  A few new somethings, actually.  Interesting tidbits about my life.  Funny stories.  Insights.  Ideas.  Beginnings and endings.  Some things may be pretty, other things bizarre.  Of course, in life there is always that ugly factor - but I'm going to try and minimize that (although I'm cynical by nature and also a glass-half-empty kind of girl) - let there be no expectations of Pollyanna, however.

My goals are quite simple, really:

  • To be honest.
  • To be funny, and blunt, and laugh at myself and my cheesy mistakes.
  • To introduce subjects that may make me uncomfortable.  To walk that line.
  • To have people from different walks of life interact.
  • To incite curiosity and invite conversation.

Yes, indeed.  This is quite a list.  I have no desire to censor and want to encourage the exchange of thoughts and ideas.  Swearing is okay.  Spamming and bigotry is not.  

I hope you enjoy it here and share with others as I try to "find Juggsy".